Karzai said US efforts to defeat the Taliban and militancy in Afghanistan would fail “from Afghanistan’s view” because it was being fought in Afghan villages, while ignoring the safe havens insurgents enjoy in Pakistan.

Indeed, virtually the entire US political establishment recognizes that the war in Afghanistan is a complete and total failure. Both the Obama administration and the Romney campaign agree that US troops should be withdrawn in 2014.

A military report of the mission in Afghanistan released last month documented the continued resilience of the insurgency in number of attacks on US and NATO troops. The Taliban are as strong as ever, the regime in Kabul is weak and cannot provide security, and overall violence has not subsided.

And Karzai’s complaint about Pakistan is also relevant, as tortured relations with Pakistan and the radicalization of the northwest frontier province are widely seen as one of Washington’s greatest failures in Afghanistan. The US war pushed militants into Pakistan’s FATA regions and the drone war there has only radicalized the population.

Karzai also noted that presidential elections scheduled for 2014 would happen on time, but many in Afghanistan think he’ll try to steal the election illegitimately, as he was accused of doing last time around. “The election will definitely happen. Go on and choose your own favorite candidate. My term, if prolonged by even a day, will be seen as illegitimate,” Karzai said.